Baby only naps for 30 mins

[issyi]

This isn’t a new thing, he has always been a car napper but the older he is getting I’m wondering if there is anything I can/should be doing. He rarely naps for longer than 30 minutes in the pram or in his crib. (I also have an older child so we are out a lot therefore pram naps are more likely to need to happen than in his crib so need him to nap on the go a lot).

He is great at getting himself to sleep, can put him down awake and he will happily drift off in a few minutes and doesn’t require any rocking to sleep but it’s just staying asleep that’s the issue. I know it’s because he can’t link sleep cycles yet but once he’s awake, he’s happy and smily but then 10/15 mins later he’s crying and fussing because he’s still tired and its near impossible to settle or get back to sleep.

I can’t remember exactly but I think my oldest was napping quite a bit longer at this point.

Since this has always been the case, is this likely to continue and he will always be a cat napper or will he gradually naturally sleep longer? He wakes different times each day so doesn’t have a nap routine, I just go off his cues (or he sometimes falls asleep in the car but again not for very long). I find it harder to comit to a nap routine this time as it’s unfair to my oldest to plan his day around naps. Grateful for any advice!

That's tricky if you don't want to commit to a routine. I know everyone on Mumsnet is adamant their babies all slept on the go, but mine NEVER did/does more than 30 minutes in the pram / car. Never. Ever. If I want a long nap, it must be in the crib and he is very routine driven. Trust me, I would have loved to not be that mum that had to go home for nap time.....

So your baby is likely the same.

The first sentence should say cat napper, rather than car napper.

How old is your baby?

Even on the days we are home (usually in the morning before we head out) and I put him down in his crib for a nap he doesn’t stay asleep much longer than 30 mins and this is with following the same set up as night time. It’s not really that I don’t want to comit to a routine, it’s just that I can’t plan the full day around naps because it’s not really fair on my toddler and restricts things. I’m not sure how others with more than 1 manage to stick to a certain nap schedule in the crib without planning the full day around babies nap so would be keen to know!

5 months. I know he’s still young which is why I’ve just gone with it but I’m wondering if I should be changing anything.

Mine was the same at that age, only had longer naps when he was having a growth spurt 😅 he's almost 3 now and still has 1 nap a day and that's a 1.5 to 2hr one. He only started doing that when he started sleeping through at 15 months. Crib naps are obviously so much better because mine used to constantly just wake up if he was in his pram napping. Night sleep always goes better when they've had good day sleep.

We sleep trained at 5.5 months for both bedtime and naps. Worked like a dream, some crying, but I think 20 minutes max on day 1. 5-10 minutes on day 2. After 2 days he was happy in his crib, rolled and slept. I could see him on the nanit wake up after 37 minutes, roll for 2 minutes, babble, and go back to sleep. I still breastfed on demand but he night weaned himself completely around 11 months.

But we were 100% tied to the crib and a routine from that point onwards. Still are at the age of 1. To the minute!! All day every day is planned around his nap times. It's the price I have to pay for a breastfed baby that sleeps 11 hours a night😂

I figure if he couldn't hack naps on the go by almost 6 months, it was never gonna happen.

My point is, some babies love routine. Naps on the go don't work for all of them, sorry.

My DD was a catnapper until about 6-7 months old when a switch flicked and she started doing 2 hours over lunchtime. We didn't change anything - apparently it's just a developmental stage! I would agree though that these longer naps usually happened in the crib, so at that age we would do that one at home.

Mine would always have 20 to 30 minute nap at the age. When she turned six months all of a sudden, she started napping for one to two hours and never went back to 30 min naps. That's when we dropped 4 to 3 x

Mine magically grew into long naps at 7 months. Until then it was crap naps of 30 minutes and they were all over the place and sometimes the baby works be hysterical with over-tiredness. Nothing I did helped, only time.

Same here as ottermummy. 7 months and more active and suddenly DD needed a much longer nap than the usual 30 mins, anything around 1.5 hours is the new norm which seems so strange after months of short naps and rushing around like a mad thing trying to get as much done in 30 mins as is physically possible.

I had this and I read so much about baby sleep - somewhere along the way I saw the following suggested and it worked for my DD. About 25 minutes into the nap I saw she was stirring so I’d rock the pram to get her past that sleep cycle and into a new one as that it seemed to be about sleep cycles. After a while she didn’t need that help and linked them herself.
Disclaimer though - everything that worked for my DD not work for my second child but still worth a try

I remember this phase with my first, he was having 6 catnaps a day at 5 months!

I don't think you're doing anything wrong, maybe it's the best option to have the expectation that he's only going to catnap for the next few months and just let him fall asleep on the go...it's not ideal but I found mine wouldn't have a longer nap no matter what I did until the phase passed by itself. Once he settled into longer naps I got used to going out for a few hours after his first one.

thank you for the replies, it’s reassuring to hear it is quite common and hopefully he will gradually do longer naps. I’ve been so laid back this time round compared to my first and was worried I needed to be doing something to help him sleep longer but will just keep going with the flow for now.

Absolutely keep going with the flow! My second is 7 months today and like you needs to primarily nap in the pram due to elder sibling needs. For ages she only napped 30-40 mins at a time but suddenly this week she's in the pram for 2 hours in a go! Can only assume it's developmental x

Gd was similar but dd1 sleep trained at about 5.5 months and she normally has about 1.5 hours now. Dd1 has to put a snooze cover over the pram if she needs to nap in her pram as she's a nosy baby. Good luck!

I’m sure I read that babies start naturally consolidating their shorter naps into longer ones around six months. But you’re going to have to create the right conditions if you want that to happen. I get that you feel it’s not fair on your toddler and I’m sorry if this sounds harsh but you have two children and sometimes ones needs have to come first. If it’s morning you are generally home then why not prioritise a long nap for baby in the morning and save activities for the afternoon. I always found the morning nap to be the most important when LG was that age. She’d be up at 6:30/7 and be ready for a two hour nap by 9/9:30.
When you hear baby stirring after short nap in his cot, try just leaving him for a bit if he’s not upset or only slightly fussing. I read a tip is to go in as quickly as possible once the stirring starts and help baby get into full cycle by patting, or putting on white noise.

Then maybe baby will be able to get a shorter nap or two in during your busier afternoon while in pram or car.
When he’s nearer 1 everything will change again and he’ll need to take a good couple of hours after lunch and then activities will be best done morning or late afternoon.

My son was exactly the same and didn't nap any longer till he started getting more active around the 7/8 month mark. Then he napped longer to drop to 2 naps, approx 1hr am then 2hrs pm. And after that he was a great napper, he napped till he was 4 year 4 months and when he dropped to 1 nap was usually 2-3 hrs and having to be woken up 50% of the time too. Just keep at it, it will happen